Sewing machine



Oct. 7, 1947. c. 5. BEST SEWING MACHINE Filed June 18, 1945 PatentedOct. 7, 1947 UNITED PATENT FFI'CE SEWING MACHINE fllaremie lBest,dielvid'ei e, 111., assignor Ito Natimial :Sewing Machine Company,Belvidere,

111., :a. morporation of Illinois Application June "is, 194-5, serial"No. somrsi (Cl. lite- 236*) 7 -Glaims. i

trhisz'irrventron toiimprovements iinisewing machines, amiparticularlytotpifesseriioot controlling means.

iinconventional sewing machines, the presse'r which carries the presserhot is provided with siever actuated'meansffor raising the "bar and nameithe root to inoperative ut of contact with :the work, and ior loweringthe bar andmowing the iioot foo operative position in :contact with thework on the steed :point. For ordinary :sewing, this provision :OTrneans tior :moving the presser :-foot and tretaining in $0118 (of twoextreme :positions is adequate.

However, for certain types of work, particu- .larly unending and:darning, it flsdesirable remove the work manually hack and :forthbetween the :point and the mresser ifioot, and under simh conditions-theresserroot mustnot =be under such tension as to exert undue pressure "onthe work -.and interfere with the operators efiorts to move the workback and :iorth. 0n the other hand, it is not possible :to periorm thework properly when the :PYBSSQI foot is in its conventional 'raisedposition.

Heretofore operators have attempted to overcome the lack :of propercontrol means by altering the tension of the tension spring "associated-th'e presser bar, in :order to :gain the desired 7 pressure on thepresser toot. .Such alteration of the tension and the restoring of theproper tension ifor ordinary sewing has proven very unsatisfactory aswell as time and effort consuming. Frequently the result 311283313811iaiilure to restore the proper tension and consequent difliculty inperforming subsequent work.

The main object of my invention is to provide, in addition ito "theconventional lever actuated means for moving the presser bar and .footto operative and inoperative positions, auxiliary control means wherebythe presser foot may be positioned so as "to permit manipulation of thework .by the operator without interfering with the adjustment of thepresser bar tension.

In thedrawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a sewing machine head embodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the end portio of the sewing head of themachine.

Fig. 3 is a transverse, vertical sectional view through the sewing head,showing in elevation the presser bar and control mechanism therefor.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a detail of construction, taken in theplane of the line 44 of Fig. 3.

In that embodiment of the invention shown 2 in the drawings,conventional parts of the sewi ng ma'chirre "include "the bed plate:lll, upright standard 11, overhanging :arm l2, sewing head 13, flywheell'll, ipresser bar 15 and presser foot 16. Part er the needle :bar isindicated at H in Fig. 3.

Fllhe .pr-esser bar 15 is mounted for vertical reciprocatory movement inthe sewing head l3, in a bearing 18, and :above the bearing is the usualpresser bar tension releasing member or cage i9 and compressible spring:20. The presser bar has a setscrew 2 projecting from its side andthrough the slot -22 of the "cage 19 .forcontrolling the travel :of thepresser her under tension of the .20 :as is well understood .in the art.

."Iihe zmeens employed .for raising and lowering the presser .foot :lfizoom-prises a lever .23 integral with .a cam head 24 pivotally mountedon a pivot screw 25 fastened to a fixed portion of the head l '3 in suchposition that the cam engages the lower iplate portion of the cage I9.In Fig. 3., the dotted .lines show the lowered position of the lever.2-3 and cam head .24. In this position the presser foot t6 engages thework. The full line position of :the lever 23 and cam head .24

show the :lever in the act of being raised. Howevenvthis view, the cam24 hasnot reached the height of its :lif ting action on the cage 19 andpresser bar M, for the purpose of this figure is to illustrate theoperation of the auxiliary control :cam 26. The cam 26 has an actuatinglever 21 and is pivotally mounted by the pin 28 on theiower part of thehead casting, in such position that the zpresser bar 15 can be engagedand disengaged .by .the .cam 26.

The operation :of the presser :bar controlling means is as .follows:I'fOI' ord-inary sewing, the operator uses the control lever 23, raisingit to the utmost extent when it :is desired to hold the presser foot ininoperative position, out of contact with the work, and :lowering it toits other extreme position, in contact with the work, :ior the sewingoperation. When the operator desires to mend or darn, and requires thepresser foot to be raised to an intermediate position, permitting manualcontrol of the work, while maintaining controlled pressure on the work,the auxiliary control lever 21 is utilized in combination with theregular control means for the presser bar. First the operator uses thelever 23 to raise the presser foot l6 slightly above its lowermostposition, and while holding the lever 23 the operator raises the lever21 to bring the high side of the cam 26 into frictional engagement withthe presser bar [5 and thereby hold the presser bar in selectedposition. When it is desired to release the remains inoperative until itis again actuated by its lever 27.

Changes may be made in details of construction and form of the partswithout departing from the scope of my invention as set forth in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A sewing machine comprising a sewing head,

a vertically reciprocable presser bar and foot mounted in the head,manually actuated lifter means for moving said presser bar and foot to apredetermined raised position and to a work-enga position, and leveroperated retaining means adapted to bear on the presser bar and rigidlylock it against downward movement after having been moved to anintermediate position by said lifter means. 2. A sewing machinecomprising a sewing head, a vertically reciprocable presser bar and footmounted in the head, manually actuated lifter means for moving saidpresser bar and foot to a predetermined raised position and to aworkengaging position, and manually operable retaining means adapted toengage the presser bar and rigidly lock it against downward movementafter having been moved to an intermediate position by said liftermeans, said retaining means comprisinga cam pivotally mounted on thesewing head adjacent the presser bar and a lever rigidly connected tothe cam.

3. A sewing machine comprising a sewing head, a vertically reciprocablepresser bar and foot mounted in the head, tension means on the presserbar, a lifter cam pivotally mounted on the sewing head in position toactuate the tension means and presser bar, a lever for actuating thelifter cam and thereby moving said presser bar and foot to apredetermined raised position and to a work-engaging position, and leveroperated retaining means adapted to bear on the presser bar andrigidlylock it against downward movement after having been moved to anintermediate position by said lifter cam.

4. A sewing machine comprising a sewing head, a vertically reciprocablepresser bar and foot mounted in the head, tension means on the presserbar, a lifter cam pivotally mounted on the sewing head in position toactuate the tension means and presser bar, a lever for actuating thelifter cam and thereby moving said presser bar and foot to apredetermined raised position and to a work-engaging position, andmanually operable retaining means adapted to engage the presser bar andretain it in an intermediate position after having been moved to suchintermediate position by said lifter cam, said retaining meanscomprising a cam pivotally mounted on the sewing head adjacent thepresser bar and a lever rigidly connected to the cam.

5. A sewing machine comprising a sewing head, a vertically reciprocablepresser bar and foot mounted in the head, manually actuated lifter meansfor moving said presser bar and foot to a predetermined raised positionand to a work-engaging position, and lever operated retaining meansadapted to bear on the presser bar and rigidly lock it against downwardmovement after having been moved to an intermediate position by saidlifter means, said retaining means being releasable from the presser barby actuating the lifter means to slightly raise the presser bar aboveits locked position.

6. A sewing machine comprising a sewing head, a vertically reciprocablepresser bar and foot mounted in the head, tension means on" the presserbar, a lifter cam pivotally mounted on the sewing head in position toactuate the tension means and presser bar, a lever for actuating thelifter cam and thereby moving said presser bar and foot to apredetermined raised position and to a work-engaging position, and leveroperated retaining means adapted to bear on the presser bar and rigidlylock it against downward movement after having been moved to anintermediate position by said lifter cam, said retaining means beingreleasable from the presser bar by actuating the lifter cam to slightlyraise the presser bar above its locked position. r

7. A sewing machine comprising a sewing head, a vertically reciprocablepresser bar and foot mounted in the head, manually actuated lifter meansfor moving said presser bar and foot to a predetermined raised positionand to a workengaging position, and manually operable retaining meansadapted to engage the presser bar and retain it in an intermediateposition after having been moved to such intermediate position by saidlifter means, said retaining means comprising a cam pivotally mounted onthe sewing head adjacent the presser bar and a lever rigidly connectedto the cam, said retaining cam being releasable from the presser bar byactuating the lifter means to slightly raise the presser bar above itsretained position.

CLARENCE S. BEST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in'the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

